Israeli army orders evacuation of area of Deir Zahrani in Lebanon ahead of strikes against Hezbollah

The Israeli army on Monday ordered residents of an area of ​​the town of Deir Zahrani, in southern Lebanon, to evacuate in anticipation of strikes against a facility of the pro-Iranian group Hezbollah. Following the “launch of an explosive drone” by Hezbollah towards Israeli forces, the army will “target” a premises of this organization, she warned in Arabic on Telegram.

Hezbollah's television channel, Al-Manar, subsequently reported an Israeli air raid against Deir Zahrani, a village in the Nabatiyé district, about twenty kilometers from the border with Israel. This Israeli warning comes after several days of deadly bombings in Lebanon, despite a fragile truce in force.

After strikes which left four dead in the south and east on Friday evening, Israel targeted several localities in the Nabatiyé region on Sunday, killing seven people. The Israeli army, for its part, claimed to have responded to Hezbollah's launch of two drones against its soldiers, without causing any injuries, and denounced "a flagrant violation" of the ceasefire. Before these raids, it had issued its first evacuation order in several weeks, summoning the residents of the village of Arab Salim to leave the area.

Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the regional conflict by launching attacks against Israel in support of Iran, its ally, in March. Israeli reprisals left more than 4,300 dead, according to authorities. If hostilities have weakened since June following an American-Iranian memorandum of understanding and a framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, the Israeli army maintains sporadic operations in the south, where it still occupies a border strip of around ten kilometers.

On Thursday, Israel announced that it had taken control of the Ali Taher mountain ridge, which served as a strategic position for Hezbollah in Nabatiyé. The Lebanese movement has not confirmed. After Sunday's strikes, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged Washington and the international community to “stop” Israeli attacks, denouncing a “dangerous escalation”. Further talks are expected this month between Lebanese and Israeli officials, although no date has been announced.